Plett Airport's new lease on life

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS – The first piece of the puzzle in securing the long-term future of the Plettenberg Bay Airport has fallen into place with the Bitou Council deciding on Thursday 30 March to enter into a master lease with hangar owners at the airport.

In late 2022, the Bitou Council reached a resolution that the Plettenberg Bay airport is a strategic asset and that the land must be retained for airport purposes. The municipality, however, acknowledged that it does not have the skills to manage the airport, especially for commercial operations. The council agreed it needed to outsource the airport operations to a skilled and experienced operator.

According to council documents at Thursday's meeting, the tender specifications are being finalised, paving the way for a calling for proposals.

This will cover the leasing of the land and all facilities and will hopefully set the stage for substantial investment and long-term security of both commercial and general aviation operations.

Temporary step
In the interim, a proposal was put together by the Plettenberg Bay Hangar Owners Association (PBHOA) to acquire the master lease for the general aviation area only.

The PBHOA will be liable for the monthly lease payable to the municipality and will be responsible for all maintenance of the general aviation area. The lease will be for two years only, until such time as a selected airport operator is up and running.

At the meeting, Council approved a resolution clearing the way for this master lease. While the details are still to be thrashed out in a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), the two-year lease agreement forms part of a plan that will see long-term survival of the general aviation aspect of the airport.

The main benefits of the lease agreement with the hangar association is that it will lead to a significant positive swing in revenue for the municipality of almost R1m, as opposed to the current losses being incurred at the airport. A further boost to the airport is that the commercial airline CemAir is to extend its MoA that was due to have expired on 31 March, which will ensure Plett continues to be served by a regular airline service.

Agreement on condition
The recommendation by Municipal Manager Mbulelo Memani to Council on Thursday, which was accepted, was that approval in principle be granted for the municipality to enter into the master lease agreement, subject to certain conditions.

These are:

A month-to-month lease for two years
That the PBHOA provides the written consent of all the current lessees of hangars to the new agreement
That the PBHOA be liable for all maintenance and security aspects and payment of the full rental amount of all individual hangars
An MoA is be entered into.

Memani recorded that the munici-pality has no responsibility to either provide security services in respect of the hangar precinct or to maintain the hangar access roads. Also, that the writing off of historical debt that has not prescribed will not be considered, but the municipality is willing to consider appropriate incentives for the settlement of such outstanding debts. The council agreed to delegate the authority to Memani to negotiate the detailed aspects to be included into the MoA.

Chairperson of the PBHOA Steve Pattinson was delighted with the decision to award them the master lease. "Although only a short-term lease, it enables us to substantially upgrade the security of the general aviation area and to enter into common-sense leases with hangar owners," he said. "It also gives us a single voice to discuss the way forward with the new airport operator and generally promote the interests of general aviation."

A CemAir aircraft taxis down the runway at Plettenberg Bay Airport. Photo: Ewald Stander